WITH business crime in the UK steadily on the increase, protecting property from thieves has become a top priority for companies – and in a bid to help Chester-based organisations find an effective deterrent, local computer systems engineer Patrick Robinson has himself turned detective.

Employed by Business IT Specialists Obsidian, Patrick’s investigations led to him discovering Smartwater – a powerful forensic coding system which deters thieves because they know they’ll be caught and convicted.

“You may not have heard of Smartwater,” said Patrick, “but most criminals have! And not only are they aware of it, but they'll do all they can to avoid it.”

Business owners heard at a recent seminar organized by Obsidian that Smartwater has an impressive track record of deterring crimes – including burglary – by as much as 84%.

Used by 95% of UK police forces as part of their crime reduction initiatives, SmartWater is also deployed by major names across industry – from British Airways to Woolworths – to protect their assets, brands and infrastructure.

In an independent evaluation of Smartwater led by Martin Gill, Professor of Criminology at Leicester University, Smartwater was identified as being more effective in deterring experienced criminals than security guards, burglar alarms, property marking and CCTV. The impact of Smartwater as a criminal deterrent even topped high-visibility police patrols.

Local business owners can find out how Smartwater can help them not only protect their business – but also reduce the cost of insurance – by contacting Patrick Robinson at Obsidian on 01244 220022